Invalid-bed.



No. 829,481. PATENTED AUG. 28, 1906. 1:". W. MITCHELL.

INVALID BED.

APPLICATION FILED PEB. 23, 1905.

2 SHEETSSHEET 1.

A 1W. J1. WLM E@ No. 829,481. VPATENTBD 111111.28, 1906. F. W. MITCHELL.

INVALID BED.

APPLICATION FILED 111113.23, 1905.

f3fff- FREDERICK W. MITCHELL, OF FORT SMITH, ARKANSAS.

INVALID-BED Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug'. 28, 1906.

Application filed February 23, 1905. Serial No. 246,904.

To all whom, it may concern/.-

Beit known that I, FREDERICK W. MITCH- ELL, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residin at Fort Smith, in the county of Sebastian and State ofArkansas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Invalid-Beds, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in invalid-beds, in which isincluded the frame or bedstead proper, the direct supports for themattress, and the mattress itself.

The special object of my improvements is to produce a bed of thischaracter that can be manufactured economically, that will be easy tooperate, and in which provision is made for the comfort of the occupantand the convenience of the attending doctor or` nurse. In carrying outthis object and others of general utility I' havedesigned a bed in whichthe mattress and its direct supporting elements are divided into fourmovable and adjustable sections, each section being movable andadjustable independently of the complementary sections, in which themoving and adjusting of the mattress-sections are accomplished with aminimum of disturbance to the occupant and in which the attendant mayreach for bathing or treatment any part of the anatomy of the occupantwithout serious'inconvenience to either.

A further object attained by the improvements embodied in my invention1s the ability to effect radical as well as slight changes in theposition of the body and lower limbs of the occupant, thus relieving thepain and tedium usually resulting from long-maintained positions.

Figure 1 is an elevation of my improved bed, taken at the left-handside. Fig. 2 is an elevation taken at the foot of the bed. Fig. 3 is anelevation taken at the head of the bed. Fig. 4 is a longitudinal sectionthrough the bed. Fig. 5 is a top plan view ofthe bedframe andbed-spring-supporting elements. Fig. 6 is a detail in perspective of thebedpan which forms an essential part of my bed, and Fig. 7 is afragmentary detail of a fastening device used in connection with one ofthe vital elements of my bed.

Referring to the drawings in detail, A represents a tubular metalhead-piece A a corresponding foot-piece; A2, the side rails,

which ponnect the head-posts to the footposts, and A3 the cross-rails,which connect the headosts with each other and the footposts with) eachother, said head and foot pieces and rails constituting the main frameof my bed. Along the right-hand side of the `bed above the raiI A2 is arail B, the ends of which are secured to the head and foot osts,respectively. Said rail B-is connectedpwith the rail A2 by vertical barsb3, thus forming a rigid and continuous frame for that side of the bed.On the opposite side of the bed above the rail A2 is a rail b, one endofwhich is connected with the head-.post A, and the opposite end is bentdownwardly and secured to the rail A2, and said rail extends aboutone-half the length of the bed. A rail b2 is secured at one end to thefoot-post A and has its other end bent downwardly and secured to therail A2 and extends about one-fourth the length of the bed, thus leavinga gap between the vertical portionsof the two rails b b2. This gap isfilled by a drop-section b', consisting of a rail bent in the the formof an inverted U with its ends connected .by a bar b4, which extends ateach end sufliciently to ass through the adjacent vertical portions ofpthe rails b b2, and thereby serve as a hin e or pivot for said section.spring-catch F5 of Well-known form is connected with the upper part ofthe drop-section vand engages suitable openings in the rails b b2 tolock the section in its vertical or closed osition. Extendingtransversely of the be and j ournaled in the said rails A2 and inguide-plates c3 is a rod c, on which are fixed gears c and on one end ofwhich is secured a crank c2. The gears are mounted on the rod betweenthe side rails and the guideplates, thus forming slideways for thecurved rack-bars d3 als, the teeth of which engage said gears. The up erends of the rack-bars are pivoted on t e sides of the mattress-frame D.This frame is rectangular in form, made of angle-iron or other suitablematerial, and has extending thereacross flat metal straps d2, whichlsupport the springs d?, upon which the mattress-section c rests. AAt twocorners of the mattresssup orting frame are secured angular plates ddi?, in the upper corner of each of which is iixed a pin d5, whichenters a suitable hole in the bars B b, respectively, forming pivots orpintles on which the frame is hung at said IOO points and supported inconnection with the curved rack-bars d2. The mattress-section e ispreferably detachably connected with the springs d* in any convenient orWellknown manner, so that when the frame D is raised, as shown by dottedlines, Fig. 4, the mattress will be held in its proper relation to thesprings and frame. The frame is locked in its adjusted position by apawl c4, which is pivoted on the rail A2, so that'its hooked end mayengage the teeth of the adjacent pinion c.

To facilitate changing thesheeton the mattress e or beating up'thelatter in thefusual manner I providea sheet E, made of strong material,to which are secured straps e2, adapted to en age ,the head-post, andother straps e3, whic maybesuitably securedlto the rails B b. Thesestraps are equipped with sna s @tand staples@5 for holding the ends of te straps and ermitting thesheet E to be drawn and held) in the positionindicated in Fig. .1, thus raising from thel mattress the body of theoccupant of the-bed. When not so used, the sheet Will hangdown behindthe head-piece out of theway ormay be placed on the mattress under theordinary sheet with the straps e3 projecting in position to be graspedat any time lit is-desired to raise the body of the occupant.

A rodf has its ends secured in alug on the vertical portion of the railb2, `and in one of the posts b3 on the op osite sideoi` thebed andpivotally mounte on said rod are two independent y-operating frames FFof corresponding size and Jform. These frames are l supported in ahorizontalposition by barsf 2,

pivoted on a rod f4, the ends of which are ixed in the side rails A2 andhave -notches at their outer ends to engage the corresponding outerportions of the-frames, as indicated in Fig. 4. Metal straps f5 connectthe side ieces of the frames F and supportthe coil bed-s ringsf2, whichin: turn support and are detacllably connected with the lmattress-sections g g 1n the same manner as .the section e. It will beapparent that b, disconnecting the bars f2 from the frames F. the lattermay be dropped down, as indicated in dotted lines, Fig. 4. Asthese-sections Aare adapted to-support the feet andlegs of theoccupant-of the bed, if vit be desired to:.raise him to a sitting posture thesections will be dropped, as described. As the sections areindependently. adjustable, the limbs of the occupant may be placed onone section while the other is being made up, thus ermitting change ofsheets or slips with but ittle disturbance of the invalid. .In practiceit will be preferable to have Aall of the mattress-sections of my bedcovered with sli s instead of sheets, an ad vantage to Whic they lendthemselves becauseof their comparative small size. By

lacing notches at different points along the Ears f2 provision is madefor holding the frames F at different angles, as will be readilyapparent. l

Inclinedbars h2 h2 extend from the righthand rail A2 forwardly to theleft-hand rail A2 and are rigidly secured thereto. Resting on the upperpart of the inclined portions of these bars is a metal frame H,rectangular in form, the front end of which is supported by pivotedbraces h, the free ends o which are hooked and engage pins h3, whichproject inwardly from the -vertical portions of the rail 1f, wherebyas'the gate *formed b saidrail is swung on its hinge the lframe will bemoved outwardly and downwardly, the :rearend sliding on the inclinedbars h', so thatzit will-be held in a horizontal plane at all times.Thisframe supports bed-springs and a;.mattress.section h4 inthe samemanner as the other frames described, and asit canlbe movedindependentlAof the other. frames adjustment, change o bedclothes, and .workonthepatient or invalid are all. facilitated.`

Arranged under the frame Hand-removably supported on the bars h2 and therails A2 isa bed-pan J, made of any suitable metal and formed with aninclined bottom .-y" and overhan ing sides i2, -Which are adapted torest on t ebars h2 and rails A2. The pan has secured to its underside abracket j?, which is adapited to receive a suitable alcohol-stove (not sown) for heating the contents of the pan. If it be desired to use thepan when the bed is occupied, the gate is swung outwardly on its hingesand the mattress-section h4, with its frame H, removed, or if the pan isrequired at the feet of the invalid the frames F Ff, with theirmattresses, are dropped to a Vertical position and the an inserted withone side resting on the rai A3, its ends suported on the rails A2 A2 andone corner supported by the pivoted latch-f, shown in dotted lines,Figs. 1 and 5, as mounted on one of the side rails A2.

It will be 'seen that my improved bed has as important elements ahead-section comprising a pivoted frame supporting springs and mattressand means for adjusting said frame at different angles, a sheetdetachably secured to the head-frame and adapted to be stretched at anangle over the head-section, a middle section comprising a framesupporting springs and mattress and ada ted to be swung outwardly anddownward y from the bed, two foot-sections.comprising framesindependently hinged and adjustable, and a bed-pan adapted to besupported at the middle-section or the foot-section of the frame.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim asnew, and desire tosecure by Let-l ters Patent, is-

1. A bedstead comprising a main frame and head and foot boards, saidframe havin a hinged middle section on one side, an means for supportingsaid section in a hori-4 zontal position, an auxiliary middle-sectionroo' mattress-supporting frame removably and slidably supported on saidmain frame, in combination With a bed-pan, removably and slidablysupported on said main frame and below said auxiliary frame.

2. A bedstead comprising a main frame and head and foot boards, saidframe havin a hinged middle v"section on one side an means forsupporting said section in a horizontal position, an auxiliaryhead-section mattress-supporting frame hinged at its lower end on themain frame and adapted to be adjusted at dierent angles above and belowits normal horizontal osition, means for adjusting said frame and oldingit in its adjusted positions, an auxiliary middle-sectionmattress-supporting frame removably and slidably supported on said mainframe, auxiliary foot-section mattress-supporting frames independentlghinged at their upper ends on sald main ame and independent means foradjusting said frames at different angles relative to each other and tothe main frame.

In. testimony Whereoi` I affix my signature in presence of twoWitnesses. y

FREDERICK W, MITCHELL.

